- Eduardo Domínguez's side beat Montevideo City Torque convincingly, with Tomás Cuello and Bernard standing out in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana semi-final first leg.
- The 'Galo' secured their 16th win in their last 19 appearances in CONMEBOL competitions.
Atlético Mineiro beat the Uruguayan side 3-0 in the first leg of the 'Great Conquest' semi-finals, taking a major step towards the Final in Barranquilla. The second leg will be played next Wednesday, 21 October, at 7pm at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
The hosts' game plan was clear from the opening minute: inject pace into their transitions, create one-on-one situations and stretch the pitch to make the most of their quality out wide.
The 'Galo' threatened City Torque twice, but both efforts were ruled out for offside. First, Renan Lodi got a touch on a shot from Tomás Cuello; later, Lyanco — unmarked in front of goal — finished a Maycon cross, only for the goal to be disallowed.
Gabriel Delfim made a crucial intervention to keep Eduardo Domínguez's side in the game during the first half. Reacting superbly, he kept out a powerful header from Salomón Rodríguez, one of the Uruguayan side's main attacking threats.
The response from the Minas Gerais side was emphatic. Argentine winger Cuello unlocked the City Torque defence with a quick piece of thinking down the right and picked out Victor Hugo, who set up Reinier to put the hosts ahead in the 37th minute.
The 'Galo' faithful were still celebrating the opener when Bernard, capitalising on a mistake by Pablo Siles, doubled the Brazilian side's lead. Born in Belo Horizonte, Bernard exchanged passes with Reinier, cut inside and fired a precise finish into the corner, wrong-footing the Uruguayan goalkeeper late in the first half.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the opening 45 minutes. Roared on by their supporters and encouraged by their lead, the hosts pushed forward and looked to extend their advantage. If they failed to do so in the early stages after the break, it was largely thanks to a superb performance from Franco Torgnascioli.
The side's vice-captain under manager Marcelo Méndez repeatedly came to the rescue. First, he denied a long-range effort from Colombian Kevin Castaño, then kept out a shot from Reinier, before making another save to his right from Igor Gomes, who had come on for Reinier.
Mineiro's persistence eventually paid off, with another of the night's standout performers, Renan Lodi, playing a decisive role. In the 80th minute, the full-back surged forward down the left once more and delivered an accurate cross for Uruguayan striker Thiago Borbas, who got in front of his marker inside the six-yard box to make it 3-0.
Montevideo City Torque, who overturned a 2-0 deficit against Cienciano in the quarter-finals, now face a difficult task in the second leg against the reigning CONMEBOL Sudamericana runners-up. The return fixture will take place next Wednesday at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.
The match in numbers:
- Atlético Mineiro are unbeaten in their last nine home matches in the CONMEBOL Sudamericana (8W 1D), equalling their best home run in the competition (9 matches, 7W and 2D between 2018 and 2025).
- Reinier is the first Atlético Mineiro player to score and provide an assist in a CONMEBOL knockout match since Deyverson against River Plate in the semi-finals of the 2024 CONMEBOL Libertadores.
- Atlético Mineiro have scored 10 first-half goals in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana. Only Santos (11) and Cienciano (12) have scored more in this edition of the tournament.
- Thiago Borbas (Atlético Mineiro), scorer of the 'Galo's' third goal in this match, is the first Uruguayan to score against a club from his own country in a CONMEBOL semi-final since David Terans, playing for Athletico Paranaense against Peñarol in the 2021 CONMEBOL Sudamericana.
- Atlético Mineiro's Bernard has scored five goals in 11 appearances in the 2026 CONMEBOL Sudamericana, the best goalscoring return of his career in a single edition of a CONMEBOL competition, surpassing the four goals he scored in the 2012 Libertadores.
- Atlético Mineiro allowed Montevideo City Torque just one shot on target in this match. It is the fewest shots on target the 'Galo' have conceded in a CONMEBOL knockout match since the first leg of their 2024 Libertadores semi-final against River Plate (1).
- Atlético Mineiro's Bernard leads the side for chances created through shots in this CONMEBOL Sudamericana campaign, with nine, level with Tomás Cuello (9). Almost half of those passes came in this match against Montevideo City Torque (4).
- Atlético Mineiro have won six of the eight times they have hosted a Uruguayan side in CONMEBOL competitions with the same scoreline as their victory over City Torque (1D 1L). However, this was their first win in those meetings without conceding a goal.
- This is Atlético Mineiro's biggest win over a Uruguayan opponent in CONMEBOL competitions, following 15 meetings against sides from that country (7W 4D 4L).
- Atlético Mineiro's Maycon recorded the highest figures of his career in CONMEBOL competitions for touches (128), attempted passes (118) and completed passes (110) in this match.
